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A postgame interview with Daisuke Matsuzaka

A postgame interview with Daisuke Matsuzaka

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Game 2 of the Division Series, is sort of reminiscent of Game 2 last year where you struggled, but Daisuke Matsuzaka came through in a big way today. Could you talk about what you thought about the game overall?

DAISUKE MATSUZAKA (THROUGH INTERPRETER): The team got the win, and similar to last year we got the win in a dramatic way. It was, as you said, a struggle for me throughout but it was a great win for the team.

Before the game today, the Angels managers and players had mentioned that they were going to take a very patient approach with you and make you throw a lot of pitches. Did you feel that that was their approach today, especially facing the middle of their order?

DAISUKE MATSUZAKA (THROUGH INTERPRETER): I thought that they would take a similar, patient approach that they took last year, though I wasn't exactly sure what to expect today. But for me, my game plan was to get ahead in the count and to pitch aggressively. I didn't think that they were waiting me out too much, but if I had had a little more success against the middle of their order the game probably would have been a little bit easier today.

Facing their lineup, which is known for their bigger swingers, it seemed their approach featured short swings, trying to hit singles, especially to shallow center, did you notice that up on the mound? How did you try to work around it?

DAISUKE MATSUZAKA (THROUGH INTERPRETER): I didn't feel like they came out swinging that aggressively, but at the same time they are a team that has had some success against me. But today I think the problem was more my own -- was more my own and I let a lot of small mistakes pile up.

The team I faced today was very similar to the team I faced during the summer except, the addition of Mark Teixeira was a big difference. But overall, it was the accumulation of my small errors that led to the turnout you saw tonight.

You seemed to throw a lot of cutters out there tonight, but could you talk about how you felt about the quality of the pitch out there today? You induced a few swing and misses in the fifth inning there but in the at bat against Hunter. Do you regret using it?

DAISUKE MATSUZAKA (THROUGH INTERPRETER): During the second half of the regular season, the cutter wasn't always a great go to pitch for me, but during my last game against New York, I had a good feel for the cutter and I felt comfortable enough to throw it in the game so I had no hesitation about using it tonight.

Against Hunter, I thought that the slider might be a better pitch there, but I had seen him come after some cutters earlier.

To admit I went for the strikeout but with the count being what it was, I did leave it up a little bit. I also thought if I could induce a double play to short with the cutter that would have also been all right, so I don't regret making that pitch.

Your manager mentioned that even though it was a tight rope act for you tonight, you did get the win, and you did leave the game as the pitcher of record, but did you feel you were able to pay these guys back for your start earlier in the summer?